Sunday, January 26, 2014

So basically the reason why I wanted to write you a post is that I was just back from an outside of the school duty, which was joining an Indonesian debate competition held by Delayota--the nickname for SMAN 8 Yogyakarta--with two fellow students (we were team A) and the seniors as team B. We went there with the representatives for the English debate competition as well.

And there we went from our beloved campus to the outside world *exaggerated*.

But let me tell you the story just before we head out of the school.

So we were preparing in a very crucial rush that I was panicking and I had no idea what I put in the suitcase with my friends. We were running out of time that we used to find and search for materials for the debate and as the result, we were so confused of what to do.

And I was just putting on my tie just before I left in my dorm's study room. I was standing there when there was this thing I thought was a big wind that made all the furnitures moved. Even the tables. I was very calm (too calm, actually) but then I started to wonder, how could wind make the tables shook? And then the idea of earthquake popped in my mind. But the weird thing was, I wasn't really reacting to my mind. I was just like, 'Oh, it's an earthquake.' and I calmly continued putting my tie on. I saw my teachers and seniors running to the garden of Cempaka--my dorm--and I knew that my thought was right. But once again, I was just like 'Oh, ok. It's an earthquake.' suddenly it hit me. 'IT'S EARTHQUAKE!' then I rushed to the garden as well. A bit stupid and idiotic, I know. Shame.

After being so hysterical about the big earthquake that was big enough to make us all dizzy, we all headed to the bus, making ourselves comfortable and prayed for the success of the TN teams. I was pretty much in blue, I had no idea why at that time when we were all worried about the earthquake, I wanted to see his face before I left. But no, I didn't get to see him. But I enjoyed the ride eventually hehe. We would go to Yogyakarta yaaay!

In the whole ride I was asleep and I didn't remember of the journey much but I do remember the time when the seniors suddenly laughed at me when I woke up and turned out I was asleep in a very unique position which was VERY embarrassing! My face went all red and I felt like burying myself to death. Then after waking up fully, I read the materials once again.

I sometimes had convos with everyone but I was really nervous since it was my first Indonesian parliamentary debate competition!

And we went on debating for the total of five rounds (three prelims. a semifinal round, and one final round) in two days and it was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G. DUH. But I was also excited about it because we managed to get to the final challenging our seniors in our first experience of debating.

We found so many competitive competitions there. The competitors were so qualified and we were struggling to find a way to win each round. But in the last round, which was versus the seniors, we were so panicked that we messed things up that made us ended up being the second place.

But overall, we felt so proud, happy and grateful for being able to make people we love proud. And wish us luck so we can do better next time.

Since we won the contests (placing first and second in Indonesian debate contest + placing first in English debate contest), we begged [LITERALLY BEGGED] Pak Isna, Pak Agung, and Pak Pebri to let us hang out for a while, we set very good arguments that made the teachers changed their minds of going back to TN immediately.

We went to Ambarrukmo Plaza where we all went to Gramedia, the bookstore and I bought materials for my duty. We also ate together in the food court. It was fun sharing food, experience, and also stories with the seniors, They were also very welcoming toward us the tenth grade and I felt so happy for it.

And we finally went back to campus at eight pm, bringing souvenirs for our friends and seniors. The great thing is the souvenirs were treats from Dhaifan's mom and sister. We were so happy and grateful for her generosity but we also felt uncomfortable for giving her too much burden.

At last, we all walked proudly toward the dorm, feeling so awesome for winning the contests. We love it!

Thank you for all the prayers and supports given by you to us. Thank you also for the awesome outside duty, all! Hope we can go on duty together again and have fun together, both for TNESC and Independen <3

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Um, recently I've been thinking of my life before TN, when I was still in middle school. I looked at old pictures of me and my friends and I miss them so much. I wonder how they've been now. All I can do is pray for the best. So here are some pictures of me and my friends that make me miss them so much, both from SMP Negeri 1 Denpasar and SMP Negeri 1 Balikpapan. Enjoy!

Guess that's all for now. Gonna post some more exciting posts later about my high school life. Hope you guys like them!

Mantra

"You may have struggled in your own battles. They may have made you hurt. But hold on tight as time will heal them, rejoice over the scars they left you with, and you will become a victor who is able to conquer everything."